1. Luau
When in Hawaii, luau’s are a must! It is fun to eat great Hawaiian food and be entertained by Hula dancers. Two luau’s I would recommend are:
2. North Shore
If you are looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Honolulu, rent a car for a day or two and explore the North Shore. Some things I would recommend checking out are:
- Sunset Beach. As the name suggests, go at sunset. It is beautiful!
- If you are there at the right time, you can even catch a surfing competition at Banzai Pipeline.
- Horseback riding
- Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck
3. Watch a Sunset
There are SO MANY places you can watch a Hawaiian sunset. My favorite spot is right on the beaches of Waikiki
This is one of the main spots to snorkel. Plan to hit Hanauma bay right at opening. If you didn’t bring snorkel gear with you, you can rent it right on the beach for a reasonable price. Swim pretty far off shore to see some of the best marine life. The spots closer to the shore have been pretty damaged due to tourists. If you aren’t planning to rent a car to get here, there is public transportation that will take you there. The ride from downtown Waikiki takes about 30 minutes!
This one is almost a given. There is a great museum and monument set up that you take a short boat ride out to. From that monument, you can look down and see the USS Arizona still in the water. In the monument there is also a wall full of names of those who lost their lives during the attack.
6. Go Dancing
There is nothing better than being able to go dancing when the weather is still 80 degrees.
No trip is complete without taking a surf lesson. No need to plan ahead, just go to Waikiki Beach and pick someone giving lessons. Know how to surf? There are a ton of rental options near the beach that rent them in 1 – 2 hour increments.
The Polynesian Cultural Center is one of the coolest museums. This museum creates an authentic Polynesian experience for each Polynesian culture including:
- Tonga
- Tahiti
- Hawaii
- Samoa
- Aotearoa
- Fiji
There are many different activities and shows throughout the day. I always recommend getting here early so you can hit all the different regions. If you want to stay here all day, you can also end the evening with a luau and evening show.
9. Eat Moco Loco
What is moco loco? It is traditionally a rice bed layered with a burger patty, fried egg and topped with gravy. Hawaii is one of the best places to get a good, traditional moco loco. A few of the best spots are:
To avoid the extreme heat that comes later in the day, get up here right at the crack of dawn! The views of downtown Honolulu from the top are amazing.
Bonus 11. Visit Byodo-In Temple (Valley of the Temples Memorial Park)
This is such a cool, quiet temple to visit. Take off your shoes and have the opportunity to ring the gong!
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